John Aldridge: Heimir Hallgrimsson has restored hope – now comes his biggest test

Sunday World

4 hours ago

Friday night's 1-1 draw with Senegal threw up a few encouraging signs, with Kasey McAteer reviving memories of his namesake and my good pal Jason by scoring a fine goal.
There were also some decent performances across the team and it feels like Hallgrimsson has already achieved his first big goal by changing the mood around the team.
The gloom that descended over the team in recent years has been replaced with a hint of optimism and we badly needed that as Ireland games were becoming difficult to watch.
Now the manager needs to deliver results when Ireland's World Cup qualifiers roll around later this year, with the game against Hungary in September a massive moment for Hallgrimsson and his coaching team.
We all hope he finds a way to get a team lacking game changers to succeed on the international stage, but we also appreciate the scale of the task he faces in a qualifying group featuring Portugal and Hungary.
Yet I look at this Ireland team and dare to believe that we have the basis of a spine that could get us back on track.
We have never questioned the attitude or desire of the lads pulling on the Ireland jersey in recent years, but the quality has not been there to compete at the highest level of the international game.
At last, we are starting to see some signs of a recovery, with the trio of Caoimhín Kelleher, Nathan Collins and Evan Ferguson giving the manager a chance to build a good quality spine through his team.
We are lacking real quality in the midfield, but Hallgrimsson does not need a team of star names like we had when I was playing for Ireland under Jack Charlton to succeed.
He needs a handful of players who are operating at the highest level and then he can try and build a team around them.
Ireland goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher makes a save against Senegal at the Aviva Stadium. Photo: Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile
Kelleher, Collins and Ferguson have the potential to give us some hope that has been lacking in recent years, but we need a few pieces of this jigsaw to fit into place during this summer's transfer window.
The first part of that story was always likely to be Kelleher's move away from Liverpool and while I'm disappointed to see the Cork keeper leave my old club, he had no choice.
Alisson Becker is the best keeper in the world and so long as he is at Anfield, Caoimh was never going to get a game.
He is way too good to be sitting on the bench and the only surprise for me is the fee Brentford are paying to get one of the best keepers in the Premier League.
We are going to see some crazy transfer fees in this summer's window, with Liverpool likely to break their transfer record if they can get the deal for Germany midfielder Florian Wirtz over the line.
That deal is likely to be worth over £100m and history tells us that the Liverpool owners will look to fund a transfer of that size with player sales and Kelleher's exit was always going to be part of their plan.
So when news came through that Brentford are paying just £18m for Caoimh, it struck me that they have got themselves a real bargain, as I thought Liverpool might get double that fee for him.
Brentford keeper Mark Flekken is on his way to Bayer Leverkusen and Liverpool will be hoping this becomes a transfer triangle if they can wrap up the deal to bring Wirtz in.
Kasey McAteer Ireland shoots to score Ireland's goal against Senegal at the Aviva Stadium. Photo: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
I'm sad to see Kelleher leave Liverpool because he has been a fantastic servant and stepped in at crucial moments to help the club win some big trophies.
He is a top class keeper, but the pressure on him now will be different next season as he will be playing regular football and his mistakes will be highlighted, but that's what he needs now.
From an Ireland perspective, we need Caoimh to form part of the spine of our team for the next decade and while last night's friendly against Senegal didn't tell us too much, we have some reasons for optimism ahead of the World Cup qualifiers in September.
Hallgrimsson has had some time to get to grips with the job and we will see what he can come up with for that vital first qualifier against Hungary in Dublin.
Goals have been the missing ingredient for too long and that's why Ferguson needs to get his career back on track at a new club next season.
His loan move to West Ham didn't work out too well and Ireland need him to join a club that will give him a chance to find his confidence again.
We were all excited by what we saw from Ferguson at the start of his career, but that was a good while ago now and for whatever reason, he has lost his way.
I was surprised he didn't start for Ireland on Friday night, as a goal or two in this international break would have reminded clubs that he is a player worth looking at this summer.
Whatever happens next, we have to hope Ferguson gets back to scoring goals because he has the potential to be a top class player and at the age of 20, he had time on his side to find his feet again.
Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson. Photo: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Troy Parrott is another player who could have a role to play in the World Cup qualifiers and I'm hearing great things about young Everton defender Jake O'Brien, so it feels like we have a few players who could give us a chance to succeed moving forward.
Ireland's last appearance in the at a major tournament in the Euro 2016 finals feels like a long time ago and while we may be outsiders to win a group that features Portugal and the evergreen Cristiano Ronaldo, I'm feeling more optimistic than I have been in some time over what comes next for the Ireland team.
Passing football is great if you have the players to execute that plan, but we don't have that right now, so Hallgrimsson is playing a brand of football that could produce results.
The Ireland team I was so proud to be a part of raised the bar of expectations to levels that are not realistic with this current group of players, but this manager is following a realistic plan that gives us a chance to succeed.
TOTTENHAM finally made the call on Ange Postecoglou's future on Friday and it was no surprise when they confirmed he had left the club.
You could say he was unlucky to lose his job after winning the Europa League, a major trophy and a big deal for a club like Spurs, as they had not won anything for such a long time. Seventeen years, to be precise.
The problem is their Premier League form last season was so bad not even lifting a trophy was enough to keep Ange in his job.
The owners probably looked at the brand of open football he insists on and thought it was never going to work in the modern game. Teams had worked out how to play against them and picked them apart way too easily.
Tottenham owner Daniel Levy will now hire yet another manager and you have to ask whether he is as much of a problem as the managers he continues to hire and fire.
He has been there for over 20 years and the Europa League win was only his second trophy, which is not a good record.
So long as Levy is calling the shots, Tottenham may continue to have the same problems.
Maybe the chairman should look in the mirror and accept that he may need to sack himself.